Professor Cynthia S. Simmons has received the prestigious Fulbright Distinguished Scholar award, Sustainability in Amazonia at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) in Brazil.
This important recognition reflects the high esteem in which the academic community holds her work.
Note that distinguished Fulbright scholar awards have not been subject to DOGE-related cuts in the federal government, in which case Dr. Simmons fully anticipates living and working in Belém, the gateway to the Amazon, her long-standing base of operations for a career dedicated to Amazonian research.
There, Dr. Simmons will join colleagues at UFPA in an interdisciplinary effort aimed at the development of an Amazonian Bioeconomy. This is a major policy concern for Brazil and other South American nations working to balance conservation and development.
Dr. Simmons plans to focus on new infrastructure projects designed to better integrate South America with the global economy, in the interest of economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability. This aligns with recent research by Simmons that calls attention to both the benefits of large-scale infrastructure projects as well as to the potentially disruptive impacts they bring to traditional rural communities.
Her papers are some of the first to address the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America and its implications for the Amazonian Biome and resident population. In addition to her UFPA-based research, the Fulbright award will provide Dr. Simmons with the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and the Federal University of Brasilia.
UFPA together with these four federal universities comprise the Fulbright Interdisciplinary Network (FIN), “an initiative by the U.S. Embassy and the Fulbright Commission in Brazil to promote joint studies of the United States among Brazilian and U.S. academics and researchers.” Simmons has already established a close connection with UFBA, having led an educational exchange program funded by the US. Department of Education which involved both UFPA and UFBA.
Dr. Simmons began her academic career with a dissertation addressing land distribution in the Amazon Delta, a region long dominated by patron-client relations and extremes in poverty. This ultimately led to a program of research, generously funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), examining social contention arising from the mal-distribution of wealth found in Amazonia’s development frontiers, particularly in the States of Pará and Rondônia. The trajectory of her research has led Dr. Simmons inevitably to big Amazonian questions about the sustainability of the region overall, including the sustainability of its human systems.
She is an eloquent spokesperson for the region’s rural and urban poor and never tires of arguing that economic development must bring benefits to everyone, not the lucky few. In prosecuting her Amazonian research, Simmons helped pioneer a methodology integrating information from scientific surveys and remote sensing. This approach to research has proven extremely probative to land systems science and conservation studies.
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals with the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections, and work to address complex global challenges. Notable Fulbrighters include 62 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 82 MacArthur Fellows, 44 heads of state or government, and thousands of leaders across the private, public, and non-profit sectors.
Dr. Simmons will be joining an elite group of academics and citizens who have made the world a better place. Hers is a highly deserved recognition, and we wish her the best of luck!